FY09 Budget: Making Tax Cuts Permanent

The administration’s five-year forecast assumes that Congress will extend Bush’s tax cuts. Adopted during Bush’s first term, they are due to expire in coming years unless extended or made permanent by Congress.

The White House expects the deficit to narrow to $160 billion in fiscal 2010 and reach a surplus of $48 billion in 2012.

“With pro-growth policies and spending discipline, we will balance the budget in 2012, keep the tax burden low, and provide for our national security,” Bush wrote to lawmakers in a letter accompanying the budget document.